Holy Christian League
Holy Chrisitan League, also known as the Holy League, is a large nation consisting of France, Italy, the Iberian Penisula, Baden-Württemberg, Switzerland, the island of Malta, Tunisia, and the city of Alexandria. Home to some 218.2 million people, the Holy League controls 1,027,428 square miles of lands, and has holdings on two continents. The Holy League is generally regarded as a peaceful nation, and has one of the lowest crime rates in the world. The nation is ruled by Pope Innocent XIV, who is the head of a elective theocratic monarchy. History Early History Following the Second World War, the populace of many nations began to seek out answers for the reason so much carnage enveloped the world, more than 40 million people. Some turned to the governments for answers, others to their peers, and some turned to God and the Church. The Church had not intervened in a way that was particularily useful, with the Pope even supporting the actions of Mussolini and Hitler before the war. Seeing this as a major failing in the church's history, the Pope and his cardinals agreed that they had to greater role in the lives of their followers to prevent such a terrible event from blighting mankind in the future. The Pope held a meeting with several archbishops and leaders of churches in other nations around Italy to discuss the plan to expand the Church's grip, and how to better aid the people they were to shepard. Several ideas were proposed, but one in particular stuck out. Proposed by a bishop from Lyons, it was suggested that the Church support leaders chosen by the Pope himself, to take the lead in many nations, and secretly prepare them from unification under the Church's direction. The plan itself was audicious, but the possibly and reality that it could work were disputed amoungst the religious leaders. The Pope too was rather skeptical of the plan, but was willing to see it through, and tasked the bishop in fulfilling the task of finding and aiding politicians into becoming national leaders. The first took place in Italy in 1947, when Alcide De Gasperi was beaten in an election against Cornelio Jaconelli, a cardinal and agent of the plan hatched by the church. Jaconelli was ordered not to hand power over to the church yet, but to wait and establish a government that would be able to fulfill that plan when the time was right. Jaconelli set up a number a pro-Catholic reforms that allowed ministers of the church to run for office while recieving the aid of the church itself, and also prevented non-Catholics from running, which was the only controversial issue during his administration. Plans to include France, Spain, and Germany into the plan where also set, though they would prove somewhat difficult. In France, André Marie was defeated by a small margin by the Catholic bishop, Séverin Baijot, who too set about reforming the government for the plan. He was assassinated by an ill Protestant man who believed that he was seeking to wipe out the Protestant population, which was somewhat justified as Baijot was performing a number of questionable actions that nearly ruined the plan to unify the nations under the Church. Another Catholic was voted into power, and was informed of the Pope's plan, of which he surprisingly supported. Spain came under the Church's direct control in 1953, when Franco was assassinated by radical Catholic politicians, and Spain fell to theocratic Catholic forces soon after. The Church appointed an archbishop from Madrid to govern the nation in the Pope's stead, and the Holy League was annouced shortly after. League Birth The nations of France and Italy held referendums in 1954 in which the government asked if the people wanted to join the Holy League. Some people were not interested, but many loyal worshippers voted for the unifications, with the belief that the new government would be more tolerate and peaceful. The Pope annouced his support for the idea, and stated that it would not be a Catholic nation, nor a Protestant one, but a wholly Christian one, in which all brothers and sisters of the faith would be welcomed. The annoucement came as a surprise to many of Christians elsewhere, such as Othodox Christians living in the east. In the city of the Alexandria, pleas for aid from the Coptic Christian minority for protection against the abusive Egyptian government were made. Lacking a unified military force, and not seeking to break Christ's commandment that one should not pick up the sword, the Church held another meeting on how to handle the issue. The Pope acknowledged that the nation needed a military, but did not want to force Christians to fight and kill. Thus Church sponsered the formation of military order in which the Knights Hospitaller, the Teutonic Knights, and the Order of Santiago, would become permanent military forces of the new nation, and recruit citizens to fight for them, not the church directly. These orders were equipped with new weapons and machines, were shipped off to Alexandria to save their brothers of the faith. During the Invasion of Alexandria in 1956, the Holy League saw its first victory in a war against any nation. Though it was not the church's victory to have, that honor going to the knights, they did get to enjoy the pride of adding more fellow Christians to the League's territory. The League from that day on grew to include Switzerland in 1961, Baden-Württemberg in 1960, Portugal in 1968 after the fall of António de Oliveira Salazar's government, and Tunisia in 1969 during the 1969 Annexation of Tunisia, the nation's only known aggressive war of expansion. Politics The Holy Christian League's politicial system is one of the smallest in the world due to the law being the Bible which cannot be changed. Therefore, there are only two parties, the Christian Party and the Liberal Party which just govern the regions of the Holy Christian Union. The current Pope (head of state) is King Innocent XIV who is currently with the Christian Party. The Holy League is the only nation in the world where the Bible is constitution of the country. It is also unique in that is the only Christian theocracy in the world, and while it does have a military force, it does not control it directly, leaving those actions to the military itself. Founded on the principles that were strong at the time of its formation, the League seeks to promote Christianity throughout the world, and resolve many issues that damaged the name of the Church over the centuries. Currently, most of the population overwhelmingly supports the Pope and his government. Military See also:' 'Monastic Legions According the Holy League's usage of the Bible for all of its laws, it does not maintain a military force that is under its direct control. Thus, the Holy League has no official military. However, as the Church acknowledge the need of a military, it sponsered the formation of "knightly armies", which though not under its direct control, have sworn to protect the followers of Christianity where ever they may be, and the Church the guides them. Thus, they are duty-bound to protect the Holy League as it consists of one of the largest collection of Christians in the world, as well as the Catholic Church itself. There are several armies which protect the nation, namely the Knights Hospitaller, Teutonic Knights, and the Order of Santiago, though these are just a few of the many orders. Each knight army consists of several thousands of knights, and hundreds of thousands of foot crusaders, men who have sworn themselves to the protection of the faith. Altogether, these forces are known as the Monastic Legions. Demographics Language The official language of the Holy Christian League is English. Some other regional languages include French, Spanish, Portugese and Italian. Before 1952, the official language of the League was Italian. Religion The official religion of the League is Christianity (100%). To live in the HCL, you must be christian or you will either be arrested or kicked out of the country over the borders. Category:Holy Christian League Category:Nations